Chilostoma achates
species of mollusc
Chilostoma achates is a species of medium-sized, air-breathing, land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae, the true snails. IUCN has defined the snail as Near threatened, due to the development of tourism. The species inhabits high-altitude limestone environments in the eastern Alps, particularly in South Tyrol and the Carnic Alps of northern Italy, where it grows on damp rock faces and ledges maintained by seepage and snowmelt.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
Chilostoma achates (Rossmässler, 1835) was first introduced as Helix foetens var. achates, one of several varieties then included under a broadly defined H. foetens. In 1933 Lothar Forcart reclassified it as the subspecies Chilostoma zonatum achates, before Carlo Alzona (1971) restored it to full species rank—a treatment still followed by modern checklists.
Description
The shell ranges from 17 to 29 mm across and 7 to 12 mm high. Its colour is a pale yellowish horn, usually bearing a single brown band around the periphery and a paler zone just beneath. There are five gently rounded spiral turns (whorls), separated by a shallow groove called the suture. The final whorl widens markedly before the shell's opening, revealing a broad, slightly off-centre umbilicus (the hollow at the shell's base).
The public source identifies “Chilostoma achates” as species of mollusc. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chilostoma, achates and species.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Chilostoma achates”, the useful work is to connect “species of mollusc” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 29, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q14625306. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1835, 1933 and 1971.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chilostoma achates” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.